Heroes and Villains
by IWEYC
Summary: What if, four people from the group we all came to know and love didn't go to a hunters academy - but an academy for the people on the other side. Each with a different story to tell, different hardships to overcome, different solutions to them all, and friendships to forge. Besides, as a wise man - or teenager - once said, "Who said we were the villains?"
1. Chapter 1

**I DON'T OWN RWBY!**

* * *

 **File No. 1**

 **Ruby Rose**

 **Play vide** **o feed?**

 **[Yes/No]**

 _The hooded girl walked into the room, one chair awaiting her presence - while the other was occupied by someone else. The man had his finger steepled, a hard gaze set on his features. His favored cane and coffee mug near him._

 _"Why hello , you may be wondering why I called you here."_

 _Ruby took off the hood of her cloak and sat down from the chair across from the man, "Yes, I guess you could say that."_

 _The man pulled out his scroll and pressed the button that said 'play' - no doubt having this video ready beforehand._

 _Ruby's eyes widened - the video showed how Ruby was forced to fight off her drunk dad._

 _Taiyang - ever since Summer had died - was stuck in a rut, drowning himself in his sorrows, and a little whiskey as well. Although, not just a little whiskey, he drank so much that it practically became his water._

 _Now, it wasn't necessarily the whiskey that started the problem - her uncle drank whiskey all the time - it was a problem of self-control. Unlike Qrow, Taiyang wasn't used to having this much alchohal in his system, and he lost it. He started becoming more abusive to her and her sister._

 _It went on for a few days before the sisters decided they've had enough._

 _Taiyang in his prime would be able to stomp them in 10 seconds flat - but due to his drunken state, he was considerably weaker. Just weak enough for Ruby and her sister - Yang - to be able to beat him together._

 _Taiyang had been able to corner Ruby, however, and Yang was forced to deal a finishing blow - which in turn, killed him._

 _The police of Vale had found out, and weren't believing the story they told - Taiyang was a proffesional huntsman, he wouldn't lose control over alchohal. Or so they thought._

 _That led to where she was right now, as one of Vale's most wanted criminals, running from the authorities with only her sister to accompany her._

 _What was really troubling, though, was the fact that the man had this video - and hoe this video was even recorded in the first place._

 _"I have friends in high places" the man stated cryptically, Ruby raised an eyebrow at that, before sighing in defeat._

 _"So, does that mean you're going to arrest me or something?" Ruby cut straight to the point._

 _She was surprised to find the man letting out a small chuckle, "No no, I assure you I know the real story."_

 _Ruby was flabbergasted, "Wait, then why don't tell your...friends that!? If you know the true story then surely they'll believe you?!"_

 _He shook his head, "That would work," he started, "only if I didn't find out illegally."_

 _Ruby slumped in her seat, "Then, why am I here?"_

 _"Have you heard anything about a place where the people on the...other side go to train?" he asked._

 _She hesitated for a moment, before answering, "Yes...well not entirely, only little rumors on the streets."_

 _"Ah, well that saves me a lot of trouble." he mused to himself._

 _"Huh? What do you mean?" she inquired._

 _The man felt his lips twitch upwards ever so slightly, "What if I told you I was the headmaster of said academy?"_

 _Ruby's eyes widened, "Really!?"_

 _"And," he continued, cutting Ruby off, "that I was here to offer a spot over there."_

 _She opened her mouth to speak but the man cut her off again, knowing fully well what she was about to ask, "Yes, I will talk to your sister about that, she's in another room not too far from here."_

 _Ruby sighed in relief, before straightening herself, "What will be taught over there?"_

 _"Well, how to pickpocket, being able to hide from sight easily, villain type things. Although, our main priority there is to fight the grimm - the only difference being your villains and the hunters are, well, hunters."_

 _Ruby mulled over this, being able to fight the grimm was what she always wanted._

 _"It couldn't hurt to try."_

* * *

 **File No. 2**

 **Yang Xiao Long**

 **Play video feed?**

 **[Yes/No]**

 _The girl with long blonde hair stood anxiously at the side of the table, waiting for someone to come in to announce her arrest - this looked like an interrogation room anyways. She was more worried about the fact that someone talked to Ruby before her._

 _Were they trying to bribe her?_

 _The door opened, abruptly halting her train of thought._

 _A man with a green scarf, a cane, a coffee mug, and silver hair walked over to the chair opposite of the one Yang's was supposed to sit in, using the hand with his coffee mug to gesture to said seat._

 _The man let our a long breath, "You want to cut straight to the point, don't you?" he asked._

 _Yang nodded._

 _"Well, long story short, I know what happened with you and your sister," Yang flinched, "But, we also know the full story."_

 _"Yeah? Well why don't-" she was cut off by the man's stare._

 _"I didn't get this information legally - and you know when a 'higher up' does something like that they get punished severely. With that in mind, they probably wouldn't believe me anyways."_

 _"Well, ok. But why am I here? And where's Ruby?" she demanded._

 _He set his coffee mug on the table, "Ruby's fine, she's waiting outside the door as we speak. As for why you're here..." he paused, " You've undoubtedly heard of an academy for 'villains' no?"_

 _"Yeah, some people talked about it on the streets." Yang said._

 _"Well I'm here to offer you a chance to be a student over there."_

 _Yang raised a finger, "Is Ruby going?" she asked._

 _The man smiled and nodded._

 _"Well, if Ruby's going, then so am I."_

* * *

 **File No.17**

 **Blake Belladona**

 **Play video feed?**

 **[Yes/No]**

 _She looked at the train cart that was slowly rolling out a view, her gaze one of remorse, sorrow, guilt. She had just betrayed her partner, her mentor for her entire time at the White Fang - and maybe to an extent, her crush._

 _But alas, she couldn't deal with his violent tendencies any longer - as much as she wanted equality, that tactic wouldn't work against such a large group of people. Or in this case, almost the entire human community._

 _No, she shook her head._

 _This wasn't only for her, this could help Adam as well. It could be like a wake up call, to show that they were going overboard in their plans as of late._

 _Somehow she doubted that._

 _The sound of shoes tapping against metal made her jump and get into her usual fighting stance, Gambol Shroud in katana form in her right hand, while the sheath was in her left. Her eyes narrowed as she focused on the person who disturbed her._

 _It was a man, grey hair, a cane, and a green scarf - an emotionless gaze set on his features._

 _Blake gripped her weapons tighter, her stance becoming more ready, "Who are you?"_

 _The man chuckled, "Let's just say I know all about your time in the White Fang, Blake Belladona."_

 _Her eyes narrowed further, she didn't trust him one bit, "And how, pray tell, do you know that?"_

 _The man tapped his cane on the ground, a frown marring his face, "You make it sound like you can beat me. I'll have you know," his cane transformed into a two-handed greatsword, "I'm no pushover."_

 _Blake hesitated, this man definitely meant business, his stance, his weapon, his eyes - they all showed signs of repeated amount of combat. He was the epitome of an experienced fighter._

 _She transformed Gambol Shroud into it's gun form and fired out an ice dust round, aiming it for the man in front of her._

 _He let one hand off of the sword and lazily put it forward, grabbing the round then proceeding to crush it - he threw it on the ground without so much as a swing of his sword._

 _"Why are you here?" she asked a little bit more calmy, seeing the man's rare display of power - which could very well trump that of Adam's, and that was saying something._

 _"I have a question to ask you." The man said._

 _Blake didn't skip a beat, "And that would be?"_

 _"What do you plan to do now that you've left the White Fang?" he asked._

 _She shifted Gambol Shroud back into it's katana form, "What's it to you?" she spat._

 _The man didn't seem fazed in the slightest, "If you're planning to go to Beacon Academy, I suggest you don't"_

 _Her eyes widened in surprise, how did the man know this? "Why is that?"_

 _He used his greatsword to point up at the camera filming their entire battle, "Well, you know the SDC has cameras everywhere," he started, "So that would mean that they knew what your face looks like."_

 _Blake tried to show as little emotion as possible on the outside, on the inside though, she panicked - one thing she most definetly didn't become accustomed to._

 _She had never thought about that - she usually had a mask on but didn't put it on this time._

 _"Well, that still doesn't explain why you're here." she stated._

 _He tapped his sword back onto the train, a dull thud echoed throughout, "Well, you no doubt want to make a change in the world, no?"_

 _Her facial features softened slightly, "Well, yes. I want all faunus to be treated how they should be treated."_

 _The man let out a smile, "Well then, how about you join in my...ah...academy, of sorts. It isn't really too different then Beacon honestly, except almost everyone there is associated with the underworld - they aren't bad people per se, they just want to help, in some less then legal ways."_

 _She was taken aback by the man's offer, could this really be her chance at change?_

 _Sure it may have been with 'villains', but they had the right intentions, she knew._

 _"Well, I guess you can count me in."_

* * *

 **File No. 23**

 **Jaune (?)**

 **Play video feed?**

 **[Yes/No]**

 _He flipped backwards and shot out from his trusted pistol/knife, aiming for the knee to cripple the beowolf. It did, and he ran forward and slashed in a downwards motion, slicing the beowolf in half._

 _He used the momentum to flip forwards and fire off three shot, one to the head, one to the chest, and one that missed slightly._

 _He rolled out of the way of a third beowolf and brought the barrel so that it pressed against it's black fur. He grinned, before pulling the trigger, the grimm making a low howl before dropping dead on the ground._

 _He retracted the blade from under the barrel and flipped the gun so he was holding it from the opposite end. He threw it at the final beowolf, the initial impact cracking it's skull with a sickening crunch as the gun came back into the safety of his palm._

 _He wiped a bead of sweat that trailed down his head, "Phew, that took longer then expected." he murmured to himself._

 _His eyes narrowed suddenly as he heard the rustling of the leaves nearest him - flipping his gun so that his hand was in the correct position. He took cautious steps back and looked at his surroundings with a critical eye._

 _He spotted the faint rustle again, and fired._

 _The bullet harmlessly bounced off what seemed to be bone plating - the bone plating of a Death Stalker._

 _"...Sh*t." he swore._

 _He rolled to the side of the grimm's stinger, the yellow body part just barely grazing his skin - he grit his teeth in pain._

 _He stopped his combat roll to flip backwards from a pincer swipe, slashing at said item as he did so. It did minimal damage, however, seeing as the grimm's armor was practically impenetrable._

 _He shot out at one of the grimm's eyes - finally! Something that could deal a considerable amount of damage!_

 _He repeated this tactic, rolling and flipping over pincers - until he missed his footing and a pincer was able to slam into his chest. "Gah!" he cried in pain._

 _The Death Stalker charged towards him - forcing him to slide under. He noticed the underbelly wasn't coated with armor, and took advantage of that. He slid and brought the blade up to slash across it's underbelly, the grimm letting out a screech as he did so._

 _Ending his slide, he tumbled and lost his balance, the Death Stalker turned around and batted it's pincer into his chest...again._

 _He was sent into another tree, he grit his teeth even further - just enough for a scraping sound to be heard._

 _He gripped the handle of his gun, before his eyes widened._

 _He heard something padding the ground - and it sure as hell wasn't a Death Stalker's legs._

 _The Death Stalker roared in pain before something heavy dropped to the ground - was...was it dead?_

 _He got up with a grunt of exertion, using his hands as support. He walked back to the clearing he was in and saw a man, a man standing right in front of the Death Stalker's corpse. Nonchalantly leaning on his cane._

 _He stood there flabbergasted - did that man just slice a Death Stalker in two?_

 _"Hello, Jaune Arc."_

 _In th_ _at moment, he forget all about what had just happened, and charged at the man with a roar, "DON'T REFER TO ME AS THAT NAME!"_

 _He slashed down with his gun/knife - his eyes promised pain._

 _"I DON'T CARE WHO YOU ARE! I AM ONLY JAUNE! NOTHING MORE! NOTHING LESS!" he screamed in fury._

 _The man calmly parried his strike and sent him rolling to the ground, "Deep breaths Jaune, deep breaths."_

 _He got onto one knee and obliged, closing his eyes in an attempt to gain tranquility, "Why are you here?" he asked calmy._

 _The man decided to be blunt, "I know what happened."_

 _He grimaced - how much did this man know?_

 _His family had abandoned him during a training session gone wrong, left him to the grimm. He survived with a few scars - that was at the age of 13._

 _He trained himself in the woods - occasionally going into Vale. Which is how he got the gun he used - stole it from a gang member that decided to try and beat him up for money._

 _He didn't make it out all happy and jolly._

 _"Well good for you. Is that all you wanted me to know?" Sarcasm dripped out from his statement._

 _"Yes actually, a_ _proposition." Jaune raised an eyebrow, signaling him to continue, "How would you like to train at my school?"_

 _The man figured it would be better then living out in the woods - almost anything was better then living in the woods - so there was a high chance he would accept._

 _Jaune shru_ _gged his shoulders, "Sure why not."_

 _"But," the man started, "Our ways aren't the most legal. You would be considered a villain if you joined us."_

 _Jaune let out a dry chuckle._

 _"With the way we humans act now, who said we were the villains?"_

* * *

 **AN: Oh Mi Gosh! Two new stories in a week!? You must be insane! Well, I not that big news, but for me it is.**

 **Welcome to Heroes and Villains!**

 **This is another one of those ideas that just wouldn't leave me, and I decided to write it. This prolouge might make it seem like all four will be equal in terms of characters - Jaune will be the main'est' character of them all. So they're still important, just not as important as Jaune.**

 **Funny story, I got the general idea of this just by listening to a song. Shady - by Adam Lambert.**

 **Anyways, hope tou enjoyed it. I'm actually really nervous to post this, but I guess I have to take risks!**

 **Love it? Hate it? Leave a review!**

 **Cya!**


	2. Chapter 2

**I DON'T OWN RWBY!**

 **'Thoughts'**

* * *

Initially, the young blonde had been thinking he was past the whole 'motion sickness' deal - yet here he was, quietly sitting in a secluded spot on the train that was speeding towards their destination.

 _Shade Academy._

'Hah, so original...' he snarked to himself.

Though, there was also something else that irked him, he didn't only have motion sickness on bullheads, but trains too.

Either that or this train was secretly a bullhead.

Would make for a good plot twist.

He liked to pride himself on his self-control to not do anything stupid, like for instance, vomiting on the floor - or worse, on another student's shoes.

That had proven to be a very daunting task however, it probably took all his effort to _not_ vomit and make a fool of himself. Thankfully, he had enough skill to do so - or maybe he was just lucky.

" _Eta: 3 minutes."_ the PA announced.

Jaune internally sighed in relief, finally a way to get him out of this torture. He would finally be able to kiss the ground and confess his undiying love for it's grassy contents.

With a shaky hand he grabbed the ear buds he had pocketed before the trip - the wire connecting to his phone, ready to play a song. He weakly looked to his scroll and picked out the song 'Shady' by Adam Lambert.

'Seems fitting.' he mused

 **Shady - Adam Lambert**

 **Baby I'm on the hunt,  
Baby I've got my target on you.**

 **Trouble that's what I want  
And I'm gonna do just what I have to.**

 **Get your ass down to the front  
Go on and pull it out, I dare you.**

 **Sorry I'm kinda drunk  
But did you just say your game was brand new?**

 **No I ain't broken but I, I need a fix.  
That satisfaction when I, I get my kicks.**

 **I'm up all night~  
I'm out of sight~  
Don't turn on the light~  
Cause I'm feeling so shady lately~!**

 **Come on and take me underground!  
Deep under the street!**

 **Come on and take me, take me down!  
The freaks like us can meet!**

 **Turn it up! Turn it up! Turn it up! Turn it way~ up!  
Don't stop the beat.**

 **Come on and turn me, turn me on.  
Cause I'm feeling so shady~ lately~**

 **Ah! Ah!**

 **Gonna go and get me a shot,  
Gonna knock it back forget all my blues.  
Yeah that really hits the spot**

 **I'm feeling pretty fierce in my dancin' shoes (yeah)**

 **No I ain't broken but I, I need a fix  
That satisfaction when I, I get my kicks**

 **I'm up all night~  
I'm out of sight~  
Don't turn on the light~  
Cause I'm feeling so shady~ lately~!**

 **Come on and take me underground!**

 **Deep under the street!**

 **Come on and take me, take me down  
The freaks like us can meet.**

 **Turn it up! Turn it up! Turn it up! Turn it way~ up!  
Don't stop the beat!**

 **Come on and turn me, turn me on  
Cause I'm feeling so shady~ lately~**

 **I throw more shade than a cloudy day  
The brakes don't work  
I'm just a runaway train**

 **Somebody come and help me out  
All I wanna be is free**

 **I'm just tryin' to get down  
Now I can't get up  
I'm shady lately!**

 **Come on and take me underground!  
Deep under the street!**

 **Come on and take me, take me down  
The freaks like us can meet.**

 **Turn it up! Turn it up! Turn it up! Turn it way~ up!  
Don't stop the beat!**

 **Come on and turn me, turn me on  
Cause I'm feeling so shady~ lately~!**

 **(Shady lately, that's how I play,  
They say maybe it's just a phase  
Shady lately, runaway train  
Blame the game, quit blaming the gays)**

 **'Cause I'm feelin' so shady~ lately~!**

He sighed in content - the scroll was actually something the man had given to him so he could use further methods of contact, he added the earbuds and some songs for good measure. Like it or not, they were still teenagers, and teenagers loved their music. He had actually grown quite attached to this song over the past few days, maybe it's because it was like the life he was living now.

Or maybe it was just a good song, he didn't know.

'Huh? Oh the train stopped.'

He looked to the sliding doors of the train as they opened, almost opting to rush through them out of instinct - but appealed to the thought of _not_ embarrassing himself in front of his fellow peers, no, soon to be peers.

That is to say, if he passed.

He hated being cocky, but he had a sure fire feeling that he would pass whatever test the man had in stock for him and the other hopefuls.

Yet another thing he prided himself on, was the art of combat. He was good at fighting grimm - while fighting humans left something to be desired, he passed as a bit above average at most, average at least.

He swallowed the upcoming bile with an uncomfortable gulp, opting to take a look at what this 'academy' was like. There was no natural sunlight - seeing as the academy was practically underground. They were able to get oxygen through the many large holes poked through the ground to the outside, so it was all good.

"Uhm, excuse me..." a voice mumbled shyly.

He spun around and was faced with a girl wearing a red cloak a black, frilly combat-skirt. "May I help you?" he asked politely.

The girl awkwardly cleared her throat, "Well, I was kind of wondering...well..."

Jaune let out a chuckle, before it grew into laughter, the girl stared at him with a puzzled expression.

"I'm sorry, it's just this is so awkward. I really don't mind what you ask 'cept for a few things, so shoot." he assured.

The girl practically sighed in relief, letting the hood of her cloak down to reveal her black hair with red tips, and her silver eyes.

"Well, I kind of maybe don't know where we're supposed to go." the girl admitted.

Jaune snorted, "Well, I guess just follow the crowd. Name's Jaune, what's yours?"

"Ruby. Ruby Rose. Do you not have a last name?"

Just like that, Jaune's mood did a complete turn-around.

His blonde hair shadowed his eyes, fists unconsciously tightening into whitened knuckles, trying to clear thoughts of...them, out of his mind.

"I don't want to talk about that." he growled through gritted teeth, hastening his pace ever so slightly.

Ruby shifted uncomfortably, under the impression she had hit a sore spot - and to be fair, she did, "Sorry..." she mumbled sadly.

A pang of guilt pierced his heart, he couldn't really get mad at her, she didn't know anything about his past - hell, she didn't even know him 'till he introduced himself.

He turned back, a half fake half real smile on his face, "No, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have snapped at you like that, there was no possible way you could've known."

Ruby's mood brightened, a childish smile adorning her face, when she asked a question out of the blue, "What weapon do you have?"

He ran a hand through his hair, "It isn't exactly mine, per se. But I used it to survive so I guess you can count it as mine," he took out his gun/knife, "It isn't all that special - 12 inch barrel, the rounds fit into the grip panels, the cylinder release's function is to pop out this 9 inch blade for close combat," he unsheathed the blade, "Nothing too special."

Ruby's eyes sparkled, "Nothing too special!? This looks like it could've been hand crafted by a master blacksmith!" she squealed, childishly snatching his weapon from his hands and giving it a once over...or a thrice over - maybe even more, he wasn't sure.

Jaune chuckled, "What do you have?"

She unfurled the 'lunchbox' she had hanging from her back, and he was surprised to see that said 'lunchbox' was actually a giant sycthe, "This!" she announced cheerfully, "Is Crescent Rose, a sycthe/high impact sniper rifle!"

He let out a low whistle, "Impressive. Though, how would you handle the recoil? Do you just take it in with your shoulder? Or do you plant the blade into the ground?" he mostly guessed it was the latter, seeing as the sycthe was bigger then her.

"I plant the blade in the ground." she confirmed.

"Huh...that's cool."

...

...

...

"Oh, we're here." Jaune said.

"Wha-?" she mumbled, "Oh! Oh yeah, we are...heh."

"Well, I see someone waving at you, guess I'll see you later." he waved his hands as he merged into the crowd, duly noting that she said her goodbye as well.

"Huh...she was nice."

* * *

The rest of the day past with relative ease, the occasional sappy speech here and there - but other then that, there was really nothing to do.

His back was propped up against the wall of the school's ballroom, seeing as students didn't have their dorms, they didn't have anywhere to sleep.

They offered sleeping bags to make students comfortable at least, but he preferred what he used to do back in the forest - a force of habit, if you will. While it just seemed plain counterproductive to _make_ yourself sleep in an uncomfortable position, he liked to sleep just like this.

He absentmindedly scrolled through the few songs he had on his scroll, nothing too special - the only exceptions were 'Shady' and 'Oh Juliet'.

He knew that the latter was one of those... _songs_. There really wasn't much to say about it, it was just pretty catchy. Hence the reason he listened to it in the first place.

He decided against the former and chose 'Oh Juliet', putting the music on a loop that lasted until he stopped it, plugging his earbuds in, he slipped them on and tried to let the darkness overtake him.

Until...

"Jaune!" Ruby called out.

He sighed, he really should've seen this coming - making friends with a quirky girl was practically _asking_ for a lack of sleep. He didn't hold this against her though, on the contrary, he actually quite enjoyed talking to her. It was only at times when he needed to sleep, was this particular quality annoying.

He forced on a smile, "Hey Ruby...and Company." he added the last part after seeing the blonde that had waved to her during the ceremony.

"Oh!" Ruby was practically beaming, "Jaune, this is Yang. Yang, that's Jaune."

"Pleasure to meet you, Yang." he greeted.

Yang seemed to be looking over him, as if the trying to see if he was adequate - adequate for what, he didn't know.

Though, moments later, she relented, and greeted back, "Likewise. Come on sis, it's time to sleep."

Yang dragged Ruby off, while said girl was flailing around and waving her arms, either at Jaune or just flailing her arms around.

"Haaa, finally can get some sleep."

He looked around for a moment, before overhearing something Yang said.

"Jaune seems...nice."

He snorted, before calling out to them, "Nice? We barely exchanged more than 50 words."

There was a slight pause, "How did you even hear me?"

Chuckling, he put on his earbuds, "Pshh, I'm like Superman, I know when I'm needed."

* * *

 **AN:Sorry for the long wait, this was such a short chapter.**

 **Don't worry though, the next chapter will be action packed...yeah!**

 **Also, thank you guys so much for the kind reviews, and to anyone who followed and favorited this story!**

 **Sorry that this chapter wasn't all that different than canon could be, this was only a filler for what's about to happen next, plus I'm thinking of all the ways I could be not drowsy and write at the same time - actually lets me write decently.**

 **See, when I'm tired I can't write anything that makes sense...**

 **Love it? Hate it? Leave a review!**

 **Cya!**


	3. Chapter 3

**I DON'T OWN RWBY!**

* * *

Blake had never looked at herself as a heavy sleeper - far from it. Her time at the White Fang had taught her too much sleep was for the weak, but too little sleep would _make_ you weak.

So she had opened her eyes at the brink of 4, most likely ahead of everyone else. Another undeniablely embarrasing reason, she didn't want to socialize. She had never found reason to, after what Adam had become, she figured having friends would be useless.

She was about to stand up and head into the bathroom to change out of her yukata, but she stopped herself when she saw a mop of blonde hair move up. Her faunus perception was able to pick up light footsteps - almost too light for her to hear, even with her cat ears - while she could clearly see the light hair that stood out from everyone elses.

A natural blonde, probably.

She had heard some of his recent conversations with the overly energetic girl - presumably 15 by the way she acted and talked, even if she could seem like a little kid at times. And he had traded a few words with her sister, the other boisterous blonde. Though, the boy seemed far from boisterous.

He was an enigma to her - she hadn't exactly stalked him, per se, she had just overheard concersations with her heightened hearing.

His emotions could change quickly, from depressed to happy, from disgruntled to pleased, it didn't make sense. She prided herself on being able to read people's emotions, a skill she had obtained with the White Fang, and he pretty much showed them openly. Anyobe would be able to tell.

Yet she had a problem since they changed so quickly - was it a fake smile right after he was depressed or a real one?

That's not to say they weren't all enigmas, they technically were. He was just one of the people she couldn't get a clear read on - which irked her probably more then it should have. She wasn't asking herself to know his full backstory top to bottom, that would be immoral. She just wanted to know the general idea.

Like, for instance, if he had familial problems or something had happened on his own terms.

She shook her head clear of those thoughts, today wasn't the day to be thinking about thinking about things other then passing initiation.

'Thinking boy thoughts, no less.' a more lewd part of her mind chimed in.

She growled in annoyance, more to herself then anything, and abruptly stood up, making her way to the showers to go clean herself up before he big event.

She had a quick routine practically set into her brain as of now, take a shower, change, grab her weapon, eat, and set off to do whatever she had to do.

And if she didn't, secretly read her favorite series 'Ninjas of Love'. The 'in secret' part was because her book was something people would scoff at and turn their heads away from - but enjoy it all the while.

A guilty pleasure for many, if you will.

So yeah, reading it discreetly would probably be the best course of action, lest she embarras herself in front of all the other students.

Her impassive face set into a tight frown - she would be secretly reading just like she was secretly a faunus, one that was too scared to show her true heritage because of the fear that she would be treated differently.

A childish move, if she couldn't handle discriminations then she obviously couldn't handle the perks of being a faunus huntress. But as some people said, words could hurt more then a million broken bones.

She hadn't had a plan to hide her ears at first, not having thought about the consequences of being a faunus and openly showing it - so she had made a last minute descision and hid her ears from the world.

All with the help of a little, black, bow.

It was surprising really, that none of these people could tell she was a faunus, given the considerable amount of experience that radiated of the more serious students - sans the three she had been previously mulling over. They weren't exactly all play, gut they weren't all work either.

She had her suspicions on who may or may not have clued in onto the pretty obvious fact, but that wasn't many people - and almost all of them had been dashed off of her 'list' as she... _overheard_ recent conversations.

But, then again...

Her mind shifted back to that boy.

All except one person...

* * *

Jaune had never looked as himself as much of a morning person - an early bird, sure. But he most certainly wasn't the most joyful of people when he woke up.

Though, waking up to some good music had been nice.

With a quiet groan, he forced himself off of the walls - it was quite a nice change from all the forest like smells and the uncomfortable tree bark against his back. He had never found any reason to complain, his plan was just to stay in the forest and go from there. Maybe become a freelance hunter - the idea of that had intrigued him, being a hunter without having to have a license was admittedly badass.

Though you didn't get paid as much, and couldn't take as high jobs, it was still better then barely surviving in a forest.

All that aside, the point was, he never really found a reason to complain about sleeping in such environments - seeing as he wouldn't be getting out of there anytime soon. Here though, he was given adequate sleeping quarters, so he felt like he could complain all he wanted.

Good thing or a bad thing, this place would be his home - the forest life was behind him, replaced with a much happier and friendly place. One where he was able to make a friend in the first few seconds after getting off of that blasted train.

Were they friends?

That hadn't really bothered him as of late, but it just now dawned upon him that he had no social skills - all of the things he had said had been solely off of a whim. As rough as it was to admit, that last little quip was made from one of _them_ , and he couldn't help but use it, seeing as it was the perfect time to.

All that aside, it really came down to he had never really had friends before, and he was wondering if they were considered friends, or just people that talked from time to time.

He hoped it was the former, Ruby was nice - energetic yes, but he could deal with that as time passed.

He stretched his limbs, the usual pops sounding out from his body. He fully opened his squinted eyes and looked around, scanning the area to see who was even remotely close to being awake.

He stopped his full head rotation from meeting a pair of eyes he could _feel_ on him, he didn't exactly know why, but he had developed the skill of sensing one's aura. That person - boy or girl - probably didn't have too good control over her emotions. Anger or sadness were one of the many things that unconciously radiated aura off of a person.

If he had to take a guess - based on the way the aura felt - he would have to say that said person was probably looking at him in suspicion.

If someone were happy, their aura would feel light, as light as a feather actually. It would be incredibly bright - while keeping it's color of course - and would essentially just make you want to crack a tiny smile of your own.

If someone were sad, it would be exactly the opposite - incredibly heavy, and a dull shade of whatever the color of their aura was.

The emotions stemmed off from there, but these were the basic roots of a long list of feelings that people had everyday.

He didn't know _who_ exactly it was, but at least he knew he or she was _staring_ at him.

That would be wierd to say.

He sighed, he guessed it was time for a shower.

He made his way over to the boy's showers, and turned the water on...to the coldest setting possible.

He wasn't purposely trying to give himself hypothermia - he was just used to this type of water coming from the waterfalls he used to bathe in. And while he was also used to using his own handmade soap bars, he sadly didn't bring any of them with him. So he would have to deal with the foreign feeling of washing with something that wasn't bar soap.

It wasn't a long affair - a few minutes at most - and he found himself making his way down to where the teachers had said the eating quarters would be. He could hear low chatter here and there, but nothing that probably would've concerned him.

Though, an incoherent scream from this far away could be heard, which made everyone stop and look in that direction. Before ultimately deciding against looking at what had happened, not wanting to face whatever that was.

Eventually, he shrugged it off and looked at the various amounts of food out on display for the taking warily, not exactly comfortable with foods he hadn't eaten for over...well...a long time.

He reluctantly took the steps necessary to grab the food that _looked_ the best, and made his way to an empty table.

He ate the food and to his surprise, it was actually _really_ good.

In comfortable silence, he ate the food off of his plate and was about to leave, when he caught sight of Ruby and her sister.

He decided against calling out to them, and just opted to wave and try to get their attention.

Ruby had took notice of this, and grabbed her sister to quickly get their food and make their way to the table he was sitting at.

"Hey Ruby." he greeted politely, "And...Yang, was it?"

Yang busted out a toothy grin, "That's my name, don't wear it out!"

Ruby smiled with a but more of a reserved exterior, "Hi Jaune."

Jaune quirked an eyebrow at Ruby's tired expression, "Something wrong?"

Ruby sighed, puffing her cheeks out cutely, "You could say that..."

* * *

Moments ago

"MY HAIR!"

One blonde lock lay on the ground next to where the blonde brawler slept, her eyes turned into a bright red.

The students backed away slowly, careful not to alert her of their presence.

That seemed to be moot, as she looked at each and every end of the room carefully, eyeing all the people inside with unbridled fury.

"WHO DID THIS!? I WILL KILL THAT SON OF A BI-"

* * *

"Ah, so that's what that noise was." he commented offhandedly.

"Hey! No one touches the hair!" Yang stated defiantly.

Ruby snickered, but turned her head to face Jaune, "So! You seem awfully chipper this morning."

He tilted his head to the side, "I do?"

His personality was something that he didn't constantly keep in check, he lived in a forest for dust sake, did it really matter what he acted like to the grimm?

Like he woild be able to hurt their feelings?

As far as he knew, his personality differed in accordance to whatever was going on around him - be it the important events like the opening ceremony, or the more normal events like waking up in the morning.

But the point was, he unconciously changed personalities as the things around him did as well.

Did he have split personalities?

Ruby shrugged, "Well, you acted more...calm, the day we met."

Yang didn't say anything, but watched the conversation between the two delve into the more teenage things in life. Under normal circumstances, she would've gave the boy a once-over...ten times a day. At least, until she was sure he didn't have ulterior motive. But, these weren't normal circumstances at all, given what had happened to the two of them, she needed someone else to confide in other then her, and Jaune fit the bill pretty well.

"Uh, Yang. You okay?" Jaune asked, snapping her out of her inner dilema.

"Wha-Oh, I'm fine. Just thinking about what initiation would be like." she lied smoothly.

The word initation sparked something in her, as she elbowed her sister playfully, "So, you going to give him that thing you said you were gonna give?"

Ruby blushed a faint red, and apparently Jaune took notice of this, "Ruby? Are you sick or something? Your face is red." he questioned worriedly.

Ruby shook her head, but the faint blush never left her face, and that irked Jaune more then it should have.

He walked over to the opposite end of the table and put the back of his hand on her forehead - which only made her face heat up more. And Jaune - being the oblivious boy he was - deduced that it was a fever.

"Are you sure? Your forehead seems very warm." he stated, a frown marring his cute face...

NO! Not cute! He is not cute! What am I thinking!?

She looked over to Yang for help, but said girl was laughing and silently banging her fist on the table. She reluctantly took his hand off her forehead with both of hers, "I'm fine, your probably just feeling things." she assured, more to herself then anything.

Jaune looked at her, frown still currently on his face, before shrugging, "If you say so."

He plopped back down into his seat, and comfortable silence fell upon them all. Well, comfortable for Jaune and Yang - Ruby was still contemplating wether to give Jaune what she wanted to give or not.

Ultimately deciding to go for it, she spoke up, "Jaune?"

He looked back at her with a raised eyebrow, "Shoot."

"Well, I'm just wondering, do you feel like your weapon is enough?" she asked slowly.

He looked up to the ceiling in thought, before making eye contact with her again, "Well, it may be enough out there, but underground, we have no idea what to expect. So I'm gonna have to say not really."

Ruby let out a sigh of relief, before reaching for something behind the holster of Crescent Rose, taking out two, orange daggers.

"Well, since you don't really have a weapon other then the small gun. I thought maybe you could have these. They weren't really mine, I found them out in the street and just decided to take it along for good measure." she looked away while holding the daggers out, a slight blush coming back onto her face.

Jaune was flabbergasted, he hadn't met Ruby for more then a few days and she was giving him weapons!?

"Are...are you sure? Because I don't really _need_ them, they're yours and you don't have to give them to me because they're-" he started rambling but got cut off by Yang.

"Look, she's sure. So just take it."

Jaune hesitated before grabbing the two weapons like they were artifacts - when in truth they were precious gifts. The daggers were pretty simple, nothing that changed into a gun or anything like that. Just two, cool daggers that were orange with shiny detailing close to the hilt on the blade.

They were 23.5 centimeters in length, short and simple. Like the blade on his gun, except more refined for close combat instead of just an extra feature.

"Thank you so much. How do I repay you?" he asked.

Ruby somehow managed to retain her somewhat calm exterior, "No it isn't really much. But take care of them!"

He chuckled, "Of course I'll take care of them, they're a gift from you after all."

And yet again, Ruby started to blush, "Here."

He barely managed to hear her, but she stuck her hand out and gave him two leather sheaths to put the daggers in.

"So, what are you gonna name them?" she asked excitedly.

He looked at the daggers, staring at his own reflection through the shiny metal.

"Ardens and Mortem. Or 'Burning Death'."

* * *

After that, breakfast had been uneventful, small talk sure, but other then that, nothing much.

An announcement made them make their way to the outside of the academy, the dark cavern walls only lighted by the artificial light sources around them.

"Okay, so you may all be wondering what initiation is." the man said.

Murmurs of agreement rang throughout the crowd.

"And I'm here to tell you there's been a change in plans regarding said event. We've gotten a mission from an anonymous payer, the grimm underground have began to get too dangerous for some people. And we were tasked to stop them."

The crowd stays silent, "But be warned, the grimm down here are more powerful and unpredictable then the ones your used to back up there. The creatures evolved down here, gaining a faint green glow on their backs with more knowledge on how to attack."

Nervousness struck some, while excitement struck others.

"Due to this, I will put you into teams of four."

The crowd started muttering amongst themselves.

"The first group is Jaune, Yang Rose, Ruby Rose, and Blake Belladona."

The former three looked at eachother and grinned, before walking to stand next to the man and await their orders - consecutively keeping an eye out for their last teammate. Said person walked up and stood next to Jaune, an emotionless expression on her face.

"You guys are tasked to go through section A." he pointed to one of the many holes that led to more space out of the cavern.

The four of them nodded and proceeded to make their ways towards the mission area.

"Oh, and group 1?"

They looked back.

"Give 'em hell."

* * *

"I can't believe we're on a team together! Isn't this great!?" Ruby exclaimed.

Jaune chuckled, "Yeah, I guess it is." while holding his daggers in their reverse positions, on the lookout for anything that sounded remotely related to grimm.

He duly noted that the girl they didn't know had her sword out and hadn't said a word for their entire 'trip', and Jaune decided to speak up, "So, we're gonna be a team. We're gonna need to learn eachother's names and say our strengths and weaknesses for strategies."

The girl - or Blake, as the man had called her - looked uncomfortable for all but a second, before returning to her calm exterior, "I guess I'll go first. I'm Blake Belladona. I specialize in both close quarters and ranged combat, I'm good with things like sneak attacks or if we're so inclined, stuff like surveillance. My semblance lets me make a clone of myself to let me dodge at the last second. I'm not too good without my weapon - I can fight, I just can't fight to my fullest extent. An enemy that can overpower people easily isn't something I'd be good at fighting."

Jaune nodded, "I guess...welcome to the team Blake."

She barely acknowledged that, but through her aura, he could tell she held a sense of pride after hearing that.

"You're next." he nodded his head towards Ruby.

"Oh! I'm Ruby Rose! I specialize in both close and far combat, with my baby Crescent Rose! I can dash around with my semblance to hit enemies - and to top it all off I can use the recoil of the gun embedded within Crescent Rose to speed up. I'm not good with taking hits, and if I run out of ammo, my swings won't be as strong. And if I don't have my weapon...well, I won't be able to fight well." Ruby talked at about a mile a minute, though it was slow enough for them to understand.

He smiled, "Alright Yang, you're up."

"I'm Yang, Ruby's sister. While my gauntlets are able to shoot from further away, my aim is still a bit off, so if I can, I avoid using these things for ranged attacks. I can take hits - thanks to my semblance, being the ability to take hits to make me stronger. Close quarters combat is what I do best. I'm not too good with agile people that can pack a punch."

Jaune whistled, "Dang, you all got cool semblances..."

"What about you?" Blake spoke up suddenly.

He looked at her in confusion, before saying, "Well, I'm Jaune. I'm adequate at close and ranged combat. I can use my revolver when I need to gain distance - or use the blade within it to surprise enemies. These daggers were actually just given to me, but I think I can get the hang of it. My strengths are being able to think tactfully and on my feet - a tactician, if you will. I'm not good with someone who's a powerhouse, nor am I good with someone who's too fast. Sorry if I have more weaknesses then you guys..."

"What do you mean? You don't have to be sorry, that's what we - your teammates - are here for. To make up for all the weaknesses you have and help you take those weaknesses away." Ruby stated confidently.

He smiled fondly, and ruffled the reaper's hair. His smile faded, and he gripped his dagger tightly.

"What is it, Jaune?" Ruby asked.

He looked at all of them, and put a hand out, signaling them to stop.

They stopped and steadied their breathing, unmoving just as Jaune had told them to. He twirled both daggers to their regular positions, and spun back, jumping up and throwing one if them straight at a sneaking grimm. It barely did so much as scratch it's bony plating, and Mortem skidded a ways away from them.

He mumbled a curse, before dashing forward towards the unidentifiable grimm - it had a green glow on it's back, like a beowolf but a bit smaller, with bigger spikes and more exoskeleton. His teammates hesitated, before turning to join him.

 **(Song I'd recommend while reading this part. One Punch - The Hero :3)**

He took out his revolver and unloaded a round as he flipped forwards and pointed the gun towards it's back. It did notable damage, and he landed in a crouch, before spinning on his heel and aiming to stab at it's head. Surprisingly, the grimm ducked under ths swing and clawed at his chest before he had the chance to put his hands up.

He landed close to Mortem and grabbed it in his free hand, holstering back his revolver as he did so.

"Blake!" he shouted, getting her attention, "Can you use your clones to dodge strikes and look for a weak point?"

He didn't get a verbal response, just a nod as she ran forward a bit faster.

"Yang! Provide support close quarters if things get messy - you too Ruby, only do it from afar with your sniper!"

He twirled his daggers, and charged towards the grimm, a scowl settling his features as he watched his teammates not doing too well against the creature.

Just what was this thing?

He jumped up and his teammates took the hint, jumping back to give him a clear hit. He stabbed the blade into one of the open spaces between bone plating, grunting in exertion as he slashed upwards. The grimm let out a roar of pain, before the green glow on it's back got brighter.

It reached it's highest point, and blasted Jaune back down to the ground.

"Jaune!" Ruby cried.

Jaune grunted and rolled out of the way of a claw aiming to strike at his unprotected chest, using the momentum to flip back and get into a ready stance. A shot rang through the air - bouncing off of the grimm, but gaining it's attention in the process. The grim let out a snarl before charging at the Rose sniper, Blake and Yang blocking it's path.

What could they do? They were having trouble with one grimm, _one!_ He didn't dare think what would happen if they were to be swarmed by a pack of these.

Explosion after explosion echoed through the air, slices in rapid succesion barely noticeable in comparision to that.

This was _his_ team - no one had openly said it, but he would be damned if they got hurt on his watch.

With a roar of fury, he charged at the grimm, his eyes containing only good-willed rage and protectiveness. He flipped forwards and stabbed his dagger between the same plates he did before. The grimm letting out another pained cry, surging energy back into it's back.

But Jaune was ready.

"AHHHHHHHHH!" he screamed as he tore the dagger through the grimm's flesh, wisps of orange tracing after the blade as he put all his energy into that one strike. He spun backwards and landed on his feet, looking over the smoking corpse of the felled grimm

 **(Dun. :3)**

He panted and put his hands on his knees, shaking with sweat visibly pouring off of his face. His teammates were in similar states of fatigue - the best looked to be Blake, but even she was breathing heavily.

"Well..." Yang started in between breaths.

"That was...a thing."

* * *

 **AN: The one-liner ending you weren't expecting, huh? Yeah, I'm so original and funny...**

 **Pshh, if I was all those things I'd actually have a life.**

 **Anyways, the grimm underground are different, yes. But the explanation as to why isn't going to be clear for awhile - so if you were wondering why...just read the story. XD**

 **Sorry for such a late update, I had to rush the last part - fight scene - because I'm getting braces today. ;( It isn't exactly a bad thing, I mean, it gets your teeth clean and healthy. It's just going to hurt...a lot - at least, that's what some of my friends had said.**

 **Jaune's personality is probably another point of interest, seeing as he can change completely in a day, or even a few hours. One of the things Blake's wary about, which isn't something too wierd - understatement of the year - just different then everyone else she's met.**

 **Sorry if this AN isn't too detailing, I can't write well right now...**

 **Love it? Hate it? Leave a review!**

 **Cya!**


	4. Chapter 4

**I DON'T OWN RWBY!**

 **"Birdie No!" -Ruby Rose [Lindsay Jones]**

* * *

Jaune stood crouched over, with his hands propped up on his knees and a slight pant he tried desperately to hold back in his throat. His daggers had clattered down beside him, his gun still holstered within it's sheath. His muscles were sore and his legs were screaming at him to lie down and stay there.

His teammates weren't doing any better, if anything, some were doing worse then he was.

Ruby stood - but only with the support of Crescent - hands tightly clutching afformentioned weapon. She had it the best out of the group of four; she didn't run as hard as the others due to her ability to use her weapon's recoil to move around tactfully and swiftly. She probably ran the most, yes, but about half of the work was done by Crescent Rose.

Blake on the other hand, was exactly the opposite - she had it the worst of all. She had practically no way of gaining more speed without actually having to do the work herself. He weapon wasn't meant for that, her ribbon could only move her when it had something sturdy to attatch to. And it didn't.

She was the only one that didn't have the ability to use a weapon's recoil for speed purposes - which caused her to have to run faster then the others. It didn't help that her style revolved around the use of carefully accurate motion.

Yang took the most hits of the group by far, being the tank of the group wasn't the most simplest of tasks. You needed someone who was willing to block hits with their own body so others could attack in accordance to their strategies.

The extent of their fatigue was tremendous - verily so. Their injuries - while not severe - still something most people wouldn't scoff over. While Blake's injuries were far less worse then the others, there were still obvious signs of swelling and bruising at various open areas of her body.

All this effort, all this fighting that had occured against the grimm, and they only felled about several, give or take.

Just how could these things be so strong!?

"Do you...think we're done...yet?" Yang asked between heaving breaths.

Jaune was the first to reply, "If I had to take...a guess? Probably not."

He heard a whine and a groan - probably Ruby and Yang respectively - and tried to lighten the mood, "Hey, cheer up. These things should get easier as we fight them more often, because the more we fight, the better we become at learning their attacking patterns."

"He's right." Blake surpisingly spoke up, "The grimm have been getting a bit easier to beat if you paid close attention."

The sisters seemed to mull over this, and ultimately decided they were right, this was just initiation - much better to have experience with the grimm beforehand to make future missions easier and more efficiently played out.

Footsteps echoed through the tunnel, alerting the four of something's prescence - making them quickly grab their weapons and get in a fighting stance. They could tell these footsteps were different from that of the grimm's, it sounded more sharp, whereas grimm sounded muffled due to their paws and fur.

"Think it's some other students?" Ruby whispered.

Jaune's eyes narrowed, his gaze settling on the long rounded pathway, daggers held in reverse grips close to his chest, "It might be."

The footsteps grew closer, the sound becoming louder and louder with every passing second - the group of four making a tight circle amongst them in a battle fomation. Ruby replaced the chamber of Crescent Rose, Blake grabbed the sheath from her backpack and held it like a sword, Yang gripped the handle bars of her gaunlet/shotguns tightly, and Jaune stood in the front of them all.

He duly noted Yang was about to cock back Ember Celica, but held up a hand signaling her to stop; thankfully, she took the hint. He concentrated on nothing except the environment around him, while the footsteps grew even still, he was able to make out something else.

A frown marred his face, and he squinted in an attempt to look through the darkness that the tunnel beheld. Hand still up in the air, Ruby forced a question - presumably a dumb one - down her throat, nervously shaking ever so slightly.

Eventually though, he aas able to make clear of what the noise actually was, and his posture became relaxed.

It was the sound of two people talking.

"It's not grimm." he assured in a whisper, calming the other three of them down and letting their weapons be held in more relaxed holds.

He listened intently - while it was still only small talk, he was able to make out two female voices that sounded almost completely identical. Twins, he was able to deduce. He could tell one pair of footsteps was sharper then the other, which meant one of them was walking with strength, or had something on her shoe.

"I could've sworn I heard someone here, Melanie." one of the two said, slowly approaching the end of the tunnel into a small corridor. Jaune and Blake hid behind one of the walls, while Yang and Ruby hid on the one opposite of them.

"Are you sure? We walked all this way and there probably isn't anyone here, Miltia." the other complained - most likely Melanie.

"Quit whining, you need the cardio anyways." Miltia retorted.

Melanie gasped, "Are...are you calling me fat!? My dearest sister is saying that precious me is overweight!?"

Jaune rolled his eyes as he listened to the more amusing extent of their pointless banter, feeling a bit uncomfortable with having Blake have to lean on his back for stealth reasons - I mean, he wouldn't usually complain at having a pretty girl pressed up against him, but he never actually expected it to happen.

"Should we go out?" Blake asked in an inaudible whisper.

Jaune listened on a little more, and shifted his position, standing up with conflicted eyes. These people didn't seem to be the types of people who would give them trouble; it would be good to have some other people to help them fight.

With a reluctant sigh, he nodded his head just enough for Blake to notice, and the pair started to walk forward, signaling the two Rose siblings to follow suit.

As soon as he felt like he came into view, he took into account the slight jump the sisters took, their forms became more tense and their fists instinctively raised up in a defensive stance. Upon seeing that they - probably - meant no harm, Melanie and Militia relaxed their postures, walking forwards to them at a bit of a faster pace.

"Well, I'm gonna skip the cliche 'we aren't going to hurt you' line and just skip to introductions." He snarked.

He heard Yang smirk, and he could've sworn Blake rolled her eyes. Thankfully, one of the sisters responded, "Well, it couldn't hurt to have more people to fight the grimm with."

She had long black hair - as did the other - but the major difference was their clothing, one was garbed in a white dress, very stylish attire that was sure to stand out in a crowd. The other wore a black and red color scheme, both girls had heels with sharp stilts and claws respectively.

The only reason he knew this was because of his incredible ability at being perceptive.

"I'm Melanie, and this is Milititades - or just Miltia for short." the one in white introduced, gesturing her hand towards the said girl, who looked a bit shy under the four of their gazes.

Well these sisters seemed to be opposites like Ruby and Yang were, good to know.

He grinned, "Well this is Ruby, Yang, and Blake. And I'm Jaune, short, sweet, rolls of the tounge - ladies love it!"

Melanie smirked teasingly, "Do they?"

"Well, I actually don't know." he admitted, "Hey Rubes, you like my name?"

"Yeah!" she shouted absentmindedly, a little bit too fast, before gaining a light blush, "I mean...uh...yeah, I guess.."

Yang and Melanie snickered, looked like the two of them would be getting along quickly - which wasn't too big of a surprise, Melanie seemed like the person who would like to tease a lot, and Yang did just that.

"Don't ya' think you said that a little too fast there Rubes?" Yang asked grinning.

Melanie followed up with her own comment, "Yeah, someone could get the wrong idea~."

The two girls looked at eachother, before Yang grabbed her by the shoulder, "Me and you, we're going to be good friends." she stated certainly, causing Melanie to let out a grin that matched Yang's own. The two girls started talking about the normal things that people of their personalities did - embarrasing secrets about their sisters.

Jaune crossed his arms, "They seem to be getting along well."

"Yeah, it doesn't really seem like much of a surprise though." Blake responded, rolling her eyes.

Ruby popped in between the two of them, "Well, at least that means we have more help!"

Jaune shrugged, "I never said it was a bad thing - but nevermind."

"Uhm," he heard a voice say uncertainly, causing him to jerk his head around to meet Miltia's gaze, "I know Melanie already introduced me, but I'm Milia."

Jaune took the outstretched hand and shook it firmly, looked like this girl had manners, "Jaune. Just Jaune."

They made small talk, walking on what they hoped to be the right road to take, the man had only said to take on a few grimm for the mission, and they betted on seeing at least another one on the way back, so it would just be easier to head back to the school. Jaune's daggers had been long since sheathed back inside the safety of their pouches, keeping conversation while looking around for grimm.

Yang and Melanie's relentless teasing had just started a few minutes ago, the two poor sisters of said girls being the subject or their teasing endeavors. Which left Jaune with Blake in an awkward silence.

Jaune, being the...Jaune he was, decided to break the silence in what he remembered from watching a movie on his new scroll, "So...nice weather we're having today."

Blake stared at him with a deadpan gaze, before cracking a - surpising - tiny smile, "How could you know that? You can't even see outside."

Jaune shrugged, "It's just what one person said in this movie I watched, and it worked quite well, so I decided to use it."

Blake giggled, "You decided to use something you got from a _movie?_ "

Jaune felt his heart beat a tiny bit faster at the cute giggle the usually silent girl let out, though Oum knew why, "It's better then just going with what my mind tells me to do, that would never work."

"Have you even tried doing that before?" she asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I did that when that guy gave me money to buy some food, long story short I got kicked out." he admitted bashfully.

Blake let out another giggle - oh Oum did Jaune think it was cute, "Well, I guess this is a better outcome, is it not?"

 _Well, if it means talking to a cute girl, then I'm in!_

He refrained from saying such a dumb thing, because the guy from the movie only said that in his inner dialogue, so he just followed what he did.

"Oho?" a voice tore him away from his thoughts, "Aren't you two getting along better."

Blake blushed a faint shade of pink, and Jaune shrugged for the umpteenth time today, "Well, we talked, so that's certainly an improvement from her talking about..." crickets chirped to prove his point of her silence.

Blake slapped him on the shoulder lightly, with no aggressiveness within it at all. It felt nice talking to people like this...like how she used to talk with Adam...

She mentally shook her head - now wasn't the time to think about things like that, this was her chance at starting a new life! A life where she was able to make a difference without the use of violence! The start of new friendships that contained people who wouldn't take control over her.

Or she hoped.

"See, they're already looking like really close friends." Melanie added in, smirking widely.

He duly noted that Ruby puffed her cheeks slightly - though he couldn't fathom why, and just kept silent in that regard. He smiled lightly as he walked with his newly made friends, listening in and out to some of the conversations held between the five of them.

A low rumble sounded throughout the lengthy corridor - the students became unmoving on the spot, hands itching towards their weapons in an instinctive attempt to defend themselves. Jaune was first to react though, reaching for his gun/knife combo and firing out a fast, but weak bullet towards the source of the noise.

He heard something make an impact for all but a second, though it seemed the bullet became muffled by something; Jaune was leaning towards grimm fur, but he couldn't be too sure. It _did_ however, seem to garner it's attention, and the noise gradually became closer and closer, the floor around them shook violently with each passing second.

He grimaced; this creature _did not_ seem like the grimm they had fought earlier, far from it wouldn't be that much of an exaggeration if he was being completely honest. While the...lets say grimm 1...had fast, agile steps that barely made a sound to the naked, human ear - grimm 2 made a literal mini earthquake with each step it took, not to mention that would take a _very_ big creature to do so. If that was the case...then in the upperground level...that would mean this grimm was at least a few letter ranks ahead.

It was like comparing an Ursa to a Deathstalker.

A low shudder came from the thought, he certainly didn't want to face the underground version of a Deathstalker - even if there were six of them. The steps became even louder, and bone plating had come into view, large and bulky arms helped support the massive beast's weight.

His eyes widened, it was an ape-like grimm.

It's red eyes left a trail of energy in the form of wisps, trailing by as he came closer and closer. It's chest was protected with the bone armor grimm usually had - but if he had to guess, he would say this particular armor was about as strong as a Deathstalker's exoskeleton just by taking a quick glance.

The air around them grew tense, not a single movement was made between the six friends. The ape-grimm seemed to have a tendency of striking fear into it's opponents, and banged it's large fist into the wall next to it, making it crumble into a heap of dust and rumble. The walls shook, but thankfully, were able to stay intact. However, that one action looked to have succeeded in it's attempt at making the students scared.

Though, Jaune was to a slightly lesser extent, which is why he decided to attack first.

 **Hei! Karosu o terasu ano asahi no you ni**

 **(nitoro chaaji atsuku ikouze)**

He started what would be a relentless assault, feet padding on the ground lightly in small, and agile steps. He twirled his daggers around and held them in an X formation in front of his chest - both a defensive and offensive manuever he had learned during his times out in the wilderness. He didn't notice any wind blowing by him, so he had to assume he was the only one in this charge, which worried him slightly. The monster was big, horridly so. He would just have to hope his friends would pick up on the memo and help him.

 **Saa! Susumou ze itsu demo junbi wa OK**

 **(Kataya furi hengenjizai de)**

He calculated his and the ape's every move beforehand, his calculating eyes settling themselves on various parts of it's body in an attempt to search for any weaknesses. The most obvious being it's eyes, and the cracks between bone plating like the one's they had fought before - though the latter he was unsure on. The former was a given, every grimm had a weakness in their eyes; it _was_ one of the most fleshy parts of the grimm anatomy.

 **Kasanari au omoi ga shinkuro shite**

 **Kesshite kienai kizuna ni naru kara**

He _forced_ himself not to pause mid-stride when he felt a prescense settle into a quick pace just to his left - and with his enhanced aura sensing abilities, he was able to pick up on who it was rather quickly. Blake's steps almost became one with Jaune's own steps, four sets of feet tapped the ground lightly. They looked eachother in the eyes and nodded not only a second later; their minds having formulated a plan at five miles a minute.

 **Doko made mo tsuyoku nareru**

 **Oretachi nara woh woh woh yeah**

He came into the ape's gaurd like a tiny bug, with the vulnerability to be squashed at any moment, but the agility to be able to stop it from happening. He let out a roar as he released his arms from their positions, slashing in an X pattern across it's chest, which did nothing more then anger it fully. It released a loud snarl and swept it's arm in an attempt to smack the nuisance away, said nuisance jumped and landed in a crouch, rolling away from another slow, but powerful swing from the grimm.

 **Iku _Z_!**

 **Hageshiku moeru batoru**

Blake's ribbon tied itself on his wrist and he was sent flying up into the air, his feet landing with a dull thud on the roof above them - he pulled his daggers back and was sent back down in a flying rush towards the grimm. The grimm attempted to swat him away, but he was able to weave through it's attacks with ease, the grimm being too slow to actually be able to land a hit on him. He let out a battle cry slashed it across the face in one, clean cut.

 **Iku _Z_!**

 **Pinchi wa chansu daze**

It's mask crumbled away into nothing but mere dust, leaving it's face open and vulnerable to any attack they had to offer - which thankfully, Yang caught onto. She fired some shells off of Ember Celica that made satisfiying impacts with it's face, explosions peppered around it's body, which would, under normal circumstances, be considered nothing more then mere annoyances, without it's grimm mask, it's face was prone to taking loads or damage.

 **Iku _Z_!**

 **Kishikaisei**

 **Zettai ni akiramenai**

Ruby followed up with a few shots from her trusty sniper/sniper combo, it tore through flesh violently and only met opposition when she made an off shot and the bullet landed somewhere other then it's vulnerable spots. The other sisters came quick to Jaune and Blake's side, Melanie flipping fowards and landing a sharp axe kick, while Militia jumped up and delivered a quick few slashes with the use of her claws. Jaune grinned, and looked back towards his group of friends, his eyes seemed to convey a message of sorts, which the others seemed understand.

 **Iku _Z_!**

 **Yuzurenai yume ga aru**

He flipped backwards towards Yang and Ruby, letting a circular pad of aura form under his feet, Blake's ribbon still clung tightly to his wrist, and Melanie fell in line with the busty blonde brawler. Yang pulled back as Melanie did, and they both let out powerful strikes to the aura padding, launching Jaune at blinding speeds towards the grimm. Blake yanked her ribbon even further, accelerating Jaune to speeds not even though possible - even faster then Ruby.

 **Iku _Z_!**

 **Kanarazu getto daze**

He let out all of his breath in one, mighty roar and reared his dagger hands back, hus feet planted themselves firmly on the ground and he struck forwards, air rushing from that one strike alone, the girls even having to go so far as to cover their fluttering skirts. Jaune stayed behind the grimm, his eyes closed and his face serene. Until he heard a loud thud, and he turned around to see the monster succesfully cut in two.

He took one foot forwards to get in in line with the other, and he reared his fist back, pumping into the sky with an emotion that could only be described as ecstatic.

"We did it!"

* * *

 **AN:Wow, that long delay was just a screw up on my part, between piano, playing through all of Pokèmon X, watching some of the Xyz episodes, and motivational issues with the RWBY comunity, I'm surprised I was able to make this one of the best chapters I've ever written. I'm actually quite proud of the fight scene.**

 **The song was from Xyz - the japanese opening if you were wondering. A great song that you should listen to.**

 **Now, I'd like to discuss something that has happened a bit recently.**

 **MeteoriteCreature's death.**

 **I didn't know him personally, heck, I could just be described as a regular reader of his fic 'Love Traingle' - which, in all honesty, I was. Some people may have heard the heartbreaking news, but if you didn't...well...how should I put this...**

 **He gone, not here anymore...he's dead.**

 **He went through a rough life, that's what I was able to pick up on from that message they were able to get across from his fics, from rape to death throughout his life, the world just seemed to be out to get it for some inexplicable reason. His death...I can only hope that it took him to see his loved ones again.**

 **I admire him for his ability to persevere, with outside help, of course. But it was him who was able to make the descision to do what he did, even if he was a little emo throughout it.**

 **I don't kniw him well...I practically don't know him at all...but I feel like I needed to get this across to you guys.**

 **He was a great writer, and from what the message his friends gave, he was also a very great man. To those close to him, I'm sorry to you guys. But I'm guessing you don't want my half-assed version of a sorry, so I'll shut up in that regard.**

 **All I can say is, rest in peace. Hopefully you've been taken to be with the one you loved.**

 **Man...I'm not good at this stuff.**

 **On a side note, I have a random question for you all that know of a lot of Pokèmon out there, what's your favorite pokèmon? Just something I wanted to ask to lighten the mood for some people that were having a bright and happy day, and if that didn't help, I'm sorry for putting some tension in the air, but I felt these things needed to be said.**

 **Well...thank you all for the support this fic has been given, and a huge sorry on the delay. I'm having motivational issues with RWBY so don't expect me to be pumping out chapters.**

 **Thanks for listening to me talk!**

 **Love it? Hate it? Leave a review!**

 **Cya!**


	5. Chapter 5

**I DON'T OWN RWBY!**

 **"Sometimes you will never know the value of a moment until it becomes a memory..." - Dr. Suess**

* * *

Every and all forms of cheerful attitude had been utterly curshed as the news had been broken to them, and the few students who made it out of the mission alive.

Coming back had been quite simple, really - they defeated the ape-grimm, and their scrolls recieved a notification, telling them that they had completed the test, and they were to return to the designated coordinates. They were quite happy with the kill they achieved, a grimm like that surely was a feat that few their age had been able to conquer.

But other then that, the walk towards the academy had been...less the eventful, to say the least. No grimm were encountered along the way - which seemed to be a blessing, as well as a curse. No grimm meant less experience in dealing with the nasty creatures of the underground, thus making it harder in the future to kill them efficiently while also being quick in the matter, something that would prove to be challenging considering the grimm's caliber.

But, they were already fatigued from all the fighting they had to go through; the four didn't exactly know how much fighting Melanie and Militia had to do, but if they had to guess, due to the way their steps became less graceful and their breathing wasn't controlled, they would have to guess at least several.

In general, the mission - or 'test - was just all around a daunting task to go through. Having to navigate through all the loops and turns the tunnels of...wherever this place was entailed.

They had made it back, presumably, before anyone else - if the dwindling amount of people standing before the man in charge was any indication. Few were able to miss the solemn looks across everyones' faces - from grimaces to even a few tears, emotions were pooling in at this exact spot like a tidal wave.

It was a miracle the grimm hadn't came over at this very moment.

Though, the more perceptive people of the group - Jaune and Blake - were able to spot them out, and it sent shiver down both of their spines.

What exactly had happened to warrant behavior like this?

"Ahem." the man cleared his throat, garnering the attention of the 6 that had just arrived back , "I have said this before...and I shall say it again. You have passed the test, you have bested the new challenges of the underground grimm, and I want you to know something.

Becoming part of this school won't only mess up your image to the world if they were to find out, but it would also be a dangerous task to go through with. Every day you would have to watch your back for potential enemies that this school has made, everyday you would have to be faced with the reality of the more stronger grimm - the ones you're forced to fight.

I am saying this because...well...our numbers have fallen from 100 to a mere 30, including the six of you."

 _That_ was enough to freeze them in their tracks; the news hit them like a tidal wave, or rather, the same tidal wave coming back at them.

70... _70_ people had died during this school's first test - 70 students who were hoping...no... _willing_ to come into this school to do things they normally couldn't, wether it be because of their background, or their past transgressions.

They were just people with the wrong images, trying to right the things they did in the past - or in some cases, right the things their families did in the past.

Did...did the grimm underground really pose that much of a threat?

If Jaune took a guess, he would say each and every student here was handpicked; he was confronted by the manin the forest, and he didn't think he was a special case at all. And from what he heard, Yang, Ruby, and Blake were also offered to come to this academy by the man in person.

So, with that in mind, every student here obviously had to be the best of the best at what they did - maybe going so far as to call them Beacon-worthy students.

Which, in all honesty, they were.

Jaune alone could take on a pack of Beowolves and a few Ursi - he could even hold off a Deathstalker _on his own._ If even _that_ wasn't worthy of a student of Beacon, those people must've had to be monsters to even pass the opening test, let alone anything after that.

He shuddered, even the slightest possibility of teenagers as strong as _that_ was enough to send shivers down his spine. Though, it _was_ only a slight possibility, so he figured he needn't worry too much unless it came down to something that had to do with those Beacon students.

He subtly glanced to the side to analyze everyone elses' reactions - most notably, and the one that he was looking for more then the others, was Ruby.

She was still just a kid, this school didn't exactly have an age limit from what he was aware of, but even if you topped that all off with the fact that Ruby probably did something that forced her to come into this academy in the first place - it wasn't exactly going to comfort her, far from it.

A few seconds proved him right in his musings; Yang's protective grip, and the way Ruby trembled, barely able to stand on her own two leg. A mixture of shock, fear, denial, shame, and the list could go on and on for the things Jaune saw.

Yang was doing her best to comfort Ruby, it seemed. If her mutterings and tightening hold on her little sister were any indication, at least. Jaune could see the grief in her eyes though - and what he could see as regret, clearly written on her face. The reason, he couldn't fathom why.

Blake on the other hand, was...taking it surpisingly well, actually. The only difference you could see was the way her eyes shone more then normal, her fists clenched, and her face visibly tightened - while her figure stiffened all the same.

Melanie and Militia, were more or less, an extension of his own reaction, mixed with that of Yang's - one sister trying to stay strong for the other, while both internally felt the need to state their true feelings and just let it out right then and there. But much like Yang, they didn't, all for eachother.

It was both heart-warming and heart- _breaking_ when he thought about it.

For a few brief seconds, silence reigned throughout the majority of the diminished crowd - few people were muttering amongst themselves, one's with blatant disrespect for the people who had lost their lives today. The headmaster got everyone's attention yet again by coughing into his fist.

"Now, I think you're all able to see the threat these grimm pose - never get cocky, never expect a fighting pattern similar to the one's you fought above ground. If you find a weak-point, or even something that just _looks_ flimsy, don't hesitate to go for it...it's the best bet you got." he said, never once breaking emotion through his face.

Jaune's shoulders drooped, but he inwardly wanted to just hug the reaction people called instinct - if he didn't trust it, then...well...he didn't want to think of the possibilities. And not even just to him, the entire _team_ would be...dead, if Jaune hadn't found it's weak point.

They would've found it eventually - he didn't doubt their skills _that_ much. Though, by the time they did, he would take a guess and say they would be too fatigued to even run away, much less fight.

"The teams you are on serve an important purpose; one that will save both you and others in the long-run. Among the many things you will learn to do here, one of the most prominent would be how to work with other people as a group. Furthermore, teams can be composed of a maximum of 8; and minimum of 4, at the very least." he explained, "I reccomend trying to go for more then 4, but less then 8 - too little of a group is less efficient, while too big of a group can make the littler, stealthier missions more hard to finish."

Jaune nodded, he had a faint idea on who he wanted to team with - granted, they were already put on a team in the first place, but if their numbers could exceed four, he knew who else he wanted to be on a team with.

That is, if they even wanted to team with him to begin with.

He was proved wrong, however, when he felt a nudge from Yang, who was pointing at the two twin sisters - with Melanie giving him a thumbs up, and Militia gracing a small smile on her face. It seemed he was outwardley spewing his emotions, then; something he would have to work on.

He offered a small smile, and slowly shifted his head back towards the headmaster, who had patiently waited for the conversations of teams to die down, before continuing, "Dorms come with the same number of beds as the people on your team - each dorm is a little different in it's own respective way, the most notable being the different number of beds in each one. Based on the people in your team, the number is ultimately what decides which dorm you get to live in, so to speak."

It seemed fair, Jaune decided - if anything, dorms didn't really matter to him at this point, as long as the grimm in the underground were this much of a challenge, he would have to dedicate his time to training when he wasn't in classes.

Speaking of classes...

Jaune almost raised his hand to ask, but the headmaster beat him to it, "Your schedules will be handed out towards your dorms, each team member has the same schedule as each of your teammates, for both bonding reasons, and just for your convenience in general."

The headmaster looked at all the students in front of him, before explaining one final thing. "You will come to me with your team at the end of the day, I will assign you your team, dorm, and you should expect your schedules to come shortly after you've settled in. If you have any questions, just come to me at my office."

"Dismissed."

The crowd started to talk amongst themselves, Jaune walked over to the other five girls, "Uhm...do you guys maybe wanna...be on a team...?" he asked uncertainly.

He could see a few open their mouths, but were cut off as the microphone emitted static, "Oh, and one more thing."

Jaune raised an eyebrow, and patiently waited.

"Welcome to Shade."

* * *

 **AN:Filler chapter is filler!**

 **Rushed chapter is rushed!**

 **Motivational issues are a problem!**

 **Sigh the sigh...my life is just begging me to get on my phone and play some Summoners War - and I'm too weak willed to deny it.**

 **This chapter was basically to explain a tiny bit of information that should be essential later on, so I'm sorry if you were expecting something better.**

 **Love it? Hate it? Leave a review! Or don't, your choice really.**

 **Cya!**

 **[IWEYC used teleport!]**


End file.
